15 April 2019
The player and coach spoke about the importance of the match, with both reiterating that a similar display like that of the return leg against Atletico Madrid will be needed tomorrow night, with Allegri saying: “It's a one-off game and we need to play with the same attitude as we did against Atletico.”
"There was already a chance that Mario Mandzukic wouldn't play tomorrow night. I still need to decide who starts in attack, it could be Paulo Dybala or Moise Kean or neither of them. If one of them plays, then one of Mattia de Sciglio and Cancelo will be left out. It depends on what I decide to go with tomorrow night.
“Cristiano has extraordinary quality. In certain moments he becomes an unstoppable player and you can see it on his face. Alex Sandro will play tomorrow. Spinazzola has done well but he needs to get used to these types of games, which take away a lot of your physical and mental energy.
“The result of the first leg doesn't count for anything. It's a one-off game and we need to play with the same attitude as we did against Atletico. We need to have a lot of respect for Ajax in defence and precise in our movements.
"If Dybala plays then he will wear the captain's armband, otherwise it will be Bonucci. Douglas Costa isn't in perfect condition right now. Hopefully in tomorrow's final training he can show me that he has at least 30 minutes in his legs, because he can be decisive.
"If De Jong plays tomorrow night then we need to put pressure on him. But we need to win tomorrow and qualify for the next round regardless whether he plays or not. It will be a physical game. To counteract their play we need to be technically sound and we'll have to play better than we did in the first game."
Emre Can: "I feel good after the injury, I trained with the team today and I'm ready for tomorrow night's game. I know that this club want to win the Champions League we came very close in the last few years and we want to do it this year. Tomorrow night will be a difficult game, we have a lot of respect for Ajax but no fear.
“We will play with the same attitude that we did against Atletico Madrid. We want to score goals and win, we know what we're capable of. Allegri is a fantastic coach, you can see it by what he's won here. Every game is important to him and he works hard on the fine details, that's why he's a world class coach."
